Alto Pharmacy, a digital pharmacy startup, raised $200 million in new financing, according to a news release Thursday.
Softbank Vision Fund led the oversubscribed Series E funding round, bringing the company's total funding to more than $550 million. Alto plans to use the money to grow its tech-enabled, online pharmacy business.
Alto currently operates in 12 markets in the U.S. and expects to grow its annual revenue to more than $700 million in the next year, the news release said.
"We're so proud of the progress the team has made, quietly solidifying our position as the market leader in the rapidly growing digital pharmacy market," Alto co-founder Jamie Karraker said in a news release. "We're thrilled this new funding will enable us to continue to define this evolving industry and to help even more patients get the care they deserve."
Consumers, self-insured employers and other healthcare buyers are turning to online pharmacies and other nontraditional models for lower-cost alternatives for prescription drugs. About 6 in 10 adults take at least one prescription medication, with a quarter taking four or more, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. More than 8 in 10 adults think the cost of prescription drugs is unreasonable, even though over two-thirds say it's easy for them to afford their medication.
"Affordability is a bigger issue for those who are currently taking four or more prescription medicines," KFF said in an October report. Nearly a third of them have trouble affording their medication, the report said.
Capsule, a digital pharmacy startup, raised $300 million in 2021, the most among all mobile health apps, according to data from Digital Health Business & Technology.
